Lin Lian Yu was born in 1901 in Engchoon, Fujian, originally named Lin Cai Ju. At the age of seven, he began studying classic Chinese with his grandfather and father. When he was sixteen, he went to Xiamen to be an apprentice at a Chinese trad((itional medicine shop, where he spent three years learning the trade. Ultimately, however, he chose a career in education. At that time, Tan Kah Kee was expanding the teacher training department at Jimei School. Lin applied and ranked sixth out of over 140 candidates. During his time at the teacher training department, he was diligent and achieved outstanding academic results, earning the respect of his peers and teachers. He became the first student in the history of Jimei Teachers College to graduate with grades above 90 in every subject, known as a “90 student.”

In 1924, after graduating from the History and Geography Department of Jimei Teachers College, he stayed on as a Chinese language teacher. However, within two years, the school closed due to war and destruction by military party representatives. Lin then moved to Malaya. He first went to Singapore to meet Tan Kah Kee and persuaded him to reopen Jimei School. Subsequently, he went to teach at Ayer Tawar Chinese School in Perak. After a month, he moved to Surabaya to teach. His frequent articles in newspapers aroused suspicion from the Dutch government, leading to unfavorable rumors. He took this opportunity to leave Indonesia.

In 1931, Lin started teaching at Gonghe School in Klang, and six months later, he became the academic director at Yuk Hua School in Kajang. In 1935, he moved to Confucian High School in Kuala Lumpur, where he later became the chairman of the school board after World War II. Witnessing the difficult living conditions of Chinese school teachers, he resolved to unite them. In 1946, he established the Kuala Lumpur Chinese School Teachers’ Welfare Fund and in 1949, organized the Kuala Lumpur Chinese School Teachers’ Association. Lin served as the association’s secretary and from 1951, he was re-elected as its chairman for ten consecutive years.

His main contributions were twofold:

1. Internally:
   • He fundraised to build a clubhouse, ensuring a solid financial foundation for the association.
   • He implemented a welfare system to prevent the families of retired or deceased members from falling into financial despair.
2. Externally:
   • He fought for pension funds and allowances for Chinese school teachers, enabling them to focus on teaching and improve the quality of education.
   • He promoted the respect for teachers, raising their social status.
   • He initiated and hosted the All-Malayan Chinese School Teachers’ Conference to oppose the Barnes Report, leading to the establishment of the Malayan Chinese School Teachers’ Association (Jiao Zong).

Lin Lian Yu’s contributions to Chinese education can be summarized into four key points.

First, on December 25, 1951, he established the Federation of Malayan Chinese School Teachers’ Associations (Jiao Zong), to unite teachers, fight for better treatment, and resist unreasonable educational policies.

Second, he consistently defended Chinese education with unwavering dedication. During a time when many policies were detrimental to Chinese education, he rallied the Chinese community to oppose them collectively.

Third, he advocated for the Chinese community to obtain citizenship, recognizing the shift in national consciousness among Malayan Chinese. In the 1950s, although local Chinese recognized this country as their home, they faced numerous obstacles in obtaining citizenship. Lin Lian Yu led Jiao Zong and other Chinese organizations in holding the All-Malayan Chinese Associations’ Citizenship Convention in Kuala Lumpur. The enthusiastic response led to over 700,000 Chinese gaining citizenship before independence.

Fourth, he worked to eliminate the confrontation between Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees’ Association) and Jiao Zong, transforming the two major organizations into the vanguards of Chinese education. They joined forces in their struggle for Chinese education, a partnership that continues until today.

In 1954, when Lin Lian Yu became the chairman of Jiao Zong, his first challenge was the 1954 Education White Paper. This document stipulated that all Chinese primary schools within the Federation must open English classes to “bring the spirit of national education into vernacular schools.” Lin Lian Yu recognized this as a strategy to erode Chinese schools and decided to oppose it vehemently. At the end of 1954, as Jiao Zong’s chairman, he issued a letter to local teachers’ associations, all Chinese school teachers, and parents, stating their support for the Chinese-Malay alliance in the elections and revealing Jiao Zong’s three main goals for the first time: (1) equal education for all ethnic groups; (2) the development of mother tongue education; and (3) the recognition of Chinese as an official language.

To fight for the interests of Chinese education, on January 12, 1955, Lin Lian Yu led a delegation from Dong Zong and Jiao Zong to meet with Tunku Abdul Rahman at Tan Cheng Lock’s residence in Malacca. Although the tangible results of the meeting were not significant, there were two unexpected outcomes: (1) it established Dong Zong and Jiao Zong’s position as representatives of Chinese education; (2) it prompted Sir Tan Cheng Lock to advocate more vigorously for the rights of Chinese education in the future.